May 8, 2025 | About | Ask RAB | Site Map | Press | Why Radio | Radio Matters | Radio on Main Street Podcast
| | Account Manager CRM

CREATE A PROFILE: Out of Home

QUICK FACTS - pick up to 3

Eye-catching and bold, out-of-home (OOH) advertising was one of the earliest forms of advertising and represents an excellent way for businesses to attract the attention of a mass audience.  The medium is particularly effective for local advertisers who want to build name recognition within the marketplace, but top national brands in telecommunications, finance, retail, real estate, and food services also rely heavily on this medium.

  • OOH advertising revenue reached a record of $9.1 billion in 2024, a 4.5% increase from 2023.

    • (Source: OAAA, Pro forma revenue estimates, 2025)

  • Digital OOH accounted for 34% of total OOH ad spend and grew by 7.5% in 2024.

    • (Source: OAAA, Pro forma revenue estimates, 2025)
  • Leading out-of-home advertising categories in the U.S. as of 2023
    • Local Services and amusements - 2.36b
    • Retail - 774M
    • Public transportation, hotels, and resorts - 658M
    • Media and advertising - 605M
    • Government, politics, and organizations - 564M
    • Restaurants - 515M
    • Financial - 447M
    • Insurance & real estate - 414M
    • Schools, camps & seminars - 324M
    • Automotive dealers & services - 290M

    (Source: Outdoor Advertising Association of America, 2023)

  • Top 10 OOH advertising categories in the year 2024:
    • Legal Services
    • Hospitals, clinics, & medical centers
    • Domestic hotels and resorts
    • Quick service restaurants
    • Consumer banking
    • Colleges & universities
    • Local government
    • Chain food stores & supermarkets
    • Television & Cable TV
    • Live theater, opera, music, & dance

    (Source: OAAA, March 2025)

    This huge category is divided into four sectors, covering an array of advertising options listed below with the number of displays for each in 2023:

    • Billboards
      • Bulletins – 180,000
      • Digital Billboards – 16,000
      • Posters – 135,000
      • Junior - Posters 19,500
      • Walls/Spectaculars – 4,000
    • Street Furniture
      • Bus Shelters – 65,000
      • Urban Furniture - 70,000
        • Bus Benches
        • Bike Kiosks
        • Newsstands
        • Outdoor Kiosks
        • Urban Panels
      • Digital Street Furniture – 18,000
    • Transit
      • Airports – 20,000
      • Digital Airports – 5,500
      • Buses – 615,000
      • Digital Buses – 1,200
      • Rail/Subway/Transit – 350,000
      • Digital Rail/Subway/Transit – 18,500
      • Mobile Billboards - 8,682
      • Taxis/Rideshare – 20,000
      • Digital Taxis/Rideshare – 83,000
      • Vehicle Wraps - 570,000
    • Place-Based OOH
      • Digital Arenas & Stadiums - 14,000
      • Cinema – 36,000
      • Exterior Place-Based - 152,200
      • Interior Place-Based - 372,200
        • Gas Stations 
        • Convenience Stores
        • Restaurants/Bars 
        • Medical Point of Care
        • Office Buildings/Elevator
        • Grocery Stores
      • Shopping Malls – 15,000
      • Digital Shopping Malls – 20,000

    (Source: Outdoor Advertising Association of America, 2023)

      Percentage of U.S. adults who definetly agree or tend to agree with the following, by generation:

      • I often search for products and services on my phone as a result of seeing posters and billboards:
        • Gen Z – 54%
        • Millennial – 53%
        • Gen X – 40%
        • Baby Boomer - 27%
      • I often talk to my friends and/or family about things I have seen on posters and billboards:
        • Gen Z – 50%
        • Millennial – 49%
        • Gen X – 35%
        • Baby Boomer - 24%
      • I recommend things to my friends and family that I have seen on posters and billboards
        • Gen Z – 48%
        • Millennial – 48%
        • Gen X – 34%
        • Baby Boomer - 23%

      (Source: YouGov Profiles, October 2024)

    • US Out-of-Home Ad Spending, by Format, in 2023 (Full year):
      • Billboards - $6,332.7 (72.5%)
      • Transit - $1,388.8 (15.9%)
      • Place-based - $567.8 (6.5%)
      • Street Furniture - $445.5 (5.1%)

    (Source: OAAA, March 18, 2024)

    • Industry Revenue in 2023 broken down by key product and service line:
      • Static billboards - $4.1bn (45.7%)
      • Digital billboards - $1.8bn (19.6%)
      • Transit displays - $1.2bn (13.0%)
      • Street Furniture and other urban fixture displays - $1.1bn (12.5%)
      • Alternative and other leased displays - $824.3m (9.2%)

    (Source: IBISWorld, Billboard & Outdoor Advertising in the US, April 2023)

    • Industry Revenue in 2023 broken down by key markets:
      • Services - $2.7bn (30.3%)
      • Retail and consumer goods - $2.1bn (23.1%)
      • Entertainment - $1.9bn (21.0%)
      • Health/medical - $940.8m (10.5%)
      • Manufacturing - $654.1m (7.3%)
      • Government - $250.9m (2.7%)
      • Households consumers and individuals - $206.1m (2.3%)

    (Source: IBISWorld, Billboard & Outdoor Advertising in the US, April 2023)

    • The top 10 ranked advertisers in 2024:
      • Apple
      • McDonald's
      • Amazon
      • Coca-cola
      • Verizon
      • Disney
      • Morgan & Morgan Attorney's
      • Hotels.com
      • Google
      • Samsung

    (Source: OAAA, Pro forma revenue estimates, 2025)
    • 60% of the top 10 OOH advertisers increased their OOH spend compared to 2023.

    (Source: OAAA, Pro forma revenue estimates, 2025)

    • More than 25% of the top 100 OOH spenders were technology or direct-to-consumer brands.

    (Source: OAAA, Pro forma revenue estimates, 2025)

    • 59% of Adults 18+ have seen a billboard in the last month.

    (Source: 2024 MRI-Simmons Fall Doublebase)

    • 67% of adults have seen a social media element used in an OOH ad.

    (Source: OAAA, 2024 Annual Report)

    • 48% of adults agree that OOH ads influence their social media behavior.

    (Source: OAAA, 2024 Annual Report)

    • 67% of adults would take action after seeing a brand being endorsed by an influencer in an OOH ad.

    (Source: OAAA, 2024 Annual Report)

    • 47% of adults recall seeing influencer content in OOH ads in public places.

    (Source: OAAA, 2024 Annual Report)

    • Almost 90% of U.S. adults noticed an OOH ad in the last month.

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)

    • Nearly 80% of adults engaged with an OOH ad in the past 60 days.

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)

    • 68% of shoppers notice OOH ads on their way to retail stores.

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)

    • 42% of shoppers say OOH ads impact their in-store purchase decisions.

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)

    • Over half of social media users report noticing OOH ads reposted on their feeds and 60% of TikTok, Instagram, & Facebook users report noticing them.

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)

    • $9.19 billion of out-of-home ad spending was spent in 2024.

    (Source: EMarketer Forecast, March 2024)

    • $5.99 billion of traditional out-of-home ad spending was spent in 2024.

    (Source: EMarketer Forecast, March 2024)

    • $3.20 billion of digital out-of-home ad spending was spent in 2024.

    (Source: EMarketer Forecast, March 2024)

    • Adults 18+ who have seen a billboard in the last month:
      • 52% say advertising keeps them up-to-date about products and services that they need or would like to have.
      • 32% say advertising helps them choose products to buy for their kids.
      • 24% say they like to look at advertising.

    (Source: 2024 MRI-Simmons Fall Doublebase)

    • Multicultural consumers are even more likely to notice OOH ads on their way home from shopping:
      • Blacks - 78%
      • Hispanics - 76%
      • Asians - 73%

    (Source: OAAA, OOH Real. Powerful. Advertising, 2024)

    High Frequency:
    • Drivers may pass well-placed billboards on a daily basis, with frequent exposure resulting in recall
    • Passengers on mass transit, many other locations where advertising is placed are a captive audience, often for prolonged periods of time
    Broad Reach: Offer potential for exposure among majority of consumers in their area
    Billboards can direct prospective customers to a store, business or restaurant address
    Attention Grabbers:
    • Large billboards can make a strong impact based on size, color, illumination
    • Video boards are enhanced eyecatchers
    Constantly Visible: Exposure to messaging is available 24/7
    Digital OOH technology allows consumers to connect via digital devices to obtain more information, connect with advertiser's site, even shop instantly
    Can build word-of-mouth by generating curiosity in "teaser" campaigns
    Relatively cost efficient per unit compared to broadcast, print and digital media
    OOH in airports, offices enjoy exposure to more upscale audiences
    Cinema advertising typically delivers highly desirable teens and younger adults with disposable incomes
    Place-based advertising reaches consumers at the point of sale

    Delivers mass audience but affords no demographic targeting capabilities
    Fleeting Impressions for billboards
    • Exposure time is very short, typically 4-8 seconds
    • Exposure expanded if located near traffic intersection or areas where tie-ups occur
    Difficult to measure exposure
    • OAAA and Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB) initiated audited traffic counts for posters
    • Typical visibility count ranges between 40-70%
    Even those who see the creative are probably not fully engaged as they focus on other activities such as driving, limiting attention and recall
    Consumers' concentration on mobile phones may supplant any attention to billboards, other formats including site placed
    Copy Limitations: Creative must be brief and direct to account for short exposure times
    Inflexible: Once a message is up, it generally stays up through the duration of the contract, even if the advertiser's needs have changed. Additionally, printing is expensive and may take weeks to produce and replace a display (New digital boards lessen this, but currently represent only a small percentage of OOH faces)
    Creative can be easily damaged by weather or be vandalized
    Poor Image: Government and environmental issues threaten OOH in some areas, limiting potential sites for placement
    Clutter: In some markets or areas of markets there are so many billboards that individual messages may be swallowed up by the clutter; potential for new venues is virtually unlimited (elevators, bathrooms, etc.)

    Limited programmatic advertising buys, which makes DOOH less scalable channel compared to more established digital channels. 

    (Source: Forrester, Weigh The Pros And Cons Of 11 Emerging Marketing Channels, 2020)

    In combination, radio and OOH deliver a balance of sight and sound to an on-the-go audience
    • 29% of adults that have seen a billboard in the last month strongly/somewhat agree radio provides them with useful information about new products and services. 

    (Source: 2024 MRI-Simmons Spring Doublebase)

    • 60% of adults remember audio and podcast ads more then they remember ads on billboards. 

    (Source: Veritonic, Audio Ad Study 2024)

  • 65% of AM/FM radio listening takes place out of home.
    • 44% of AM/FM radio listening takes place in the car.
    • 19% AM/FM radio listening takes place at work.

    (Source: Nielsen National Regional Database, Adults 18+ - Q4 2022)
    Radio adds frequency to the reach of an OOH message that the consumer might see only once (or once a day) on a billboard
    Few radio listeners frequently change stations while in their cars, so a targeted message on radio can effectively supplement mass exposure to OOH creative
    Combining radio with an outdoor campaign will increase reach and recall:
    • Radio signals cover the market, outdoor messages are available only where displayed
    • Radio travels with the consumer as they go about their daily routines and in all locations – at home, at work, and especially in cars
    • Radio+OOH increases range and frequency to increase recall
    Most OOH advertising is fixed and remains in place for a pre-set period of time. Radio ad copy can be changed quickly, so messaging changes can be implemented to supplement or clarify OOH
    OOH ads can tweak consumer's curiosity; radio ads will complement by delivering details
    Inclement weather or adverse traffic conditions can adversely impact exposure to OOH advertising, but radio listening actually increases under these circumstances. American consumers depend on their car radios for weather and traffic reports, so OOH and radio make an effective drive-time combination every day.
    For more information on radio:
    Glossary: http://www.rab.com/public/reports/buysellterms.pdf
    FAQs: https://www.rab.com/whyradio/WRnew/faq/faq.cfm
    Statistics and Trends: http://www.rab.com/whyradio/



    NOTE: Click browse to select your logo. For best results, logos should be no more than 300 pixels wide by 150 pixels high. For more help call 1-800-232-3131.